The concept of Substantial Equivalency was developed to allow licensed CPAs to practice across jurisdictions more readily. Under Section 23 of the Uniform Accountancy Act (UAA), a CPA with a CPA license in good standing from a jurisdiction with CPA licensing requirements that are essentially equivalent to those outlined in the UAA (degree with 150 hours, minimum one year experience and successful completion of the Uniform CPA Examination) may be granted a privilege to practice in another jurisdiction that is not the CPA’s principal place of business.
Most jurisdictions have adopted a Section 23 privilege to practice. It is the responsibility of the CPA to contact the Board of Accountancy in the jurisdiction he/she intends to practice to determine if that jurisdiction has adopted Section 23 and if it requires notification or payment of a fee. This information may also be found in NASBA’s Accountancy Licensing Library and on CPAMobility.org.
NASBA’s National Qualification Appraisal Service (NQAS) has reviewed the CPA licensure requirements of NASBA’s member jurisdictions to determine which CPA licensure requirements are substantially equivalent to the licensure requirements of the UAA. Individuals who are licensed in jurisdictions that are not substantially equivalent may have their credentials evaluated by NASBA’s CredentialNet service to determine their individual substantial equivalency.
Substantially Equivalent States
The National Qualification Appraisal Service has found the following jurisdictions to have CPA licensure requirements that are substantially equivalent to those of the UAA:
| Alabama* Alaska Arizona Arkansas California CNMI Colorado Connecticut* Delaware District of Columbia Florida |
Georgia Guam Hawaii* Idaho Illinois* Indiana Iowa Kansas* Kentucky Louisiana Maine |
Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska* Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey |
New Mexico New York** North Carolina North Dakota Ohio** Oklahoma* Oregon Pennsylvania Puerto Rico Rhode Island South Carolina |
South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virgin Islands Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming |
*These states are two-tier. A certificate is initially obtained which does not allow the individual full privileges as a CPA. After additional requirements are met, the certificate holder may receive a license or permit. Only those CPAs holding an active license or permit are considered substantially equivalent.
** These states currently meet the 3E pathway requirement for substantial equivalency under the UAA, and also have a legacy pathway to licensure that can apply in specific cases with explicit board approval. Individuals licensed or certified through one of these legacy pathways after 2012 do not automatically qualify as being substantially equivalent (SE) to the Uniform Accountancy Act (UAA) and are not eligible for mobility practice privileges in other SE states.
Non-Substantially Equivalent States
All 55 accountancy board jurisdictions are currently substantially equivalent. Should any jurisdiction adopt future legislation, rules or regulations which alter their licensing requirements in a manner that is not compliant with the UAA requirements (150 semester hours of education with accounting concentration, at least one-year acceptable experience, and successful completion of the Uniform CPA Examination), that jurisdiction may be found to be non-substantially equivalent by NQAS.
For more information or help with Substantial Equivalency, visit NASBA’s Accountancy Licensing Library.